Zechariah 12

Berean Standard Bible

Chapter summary

The LORD declares that He will make Jerusalem and Judah a source of distress and a heavy stone for all surrounding nations gathered against them in siege. During this conflict, the LORD strikes the horses and riders of the opposing nations with panic, madness, and blindness while protecting the house of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The leaders and clans of Judah recognize their strength through the LORD, who grants them victory, saves Judah first, and resolves to destroy all the nations attacking Jerusalem. Furthermore, the LORD defends Jerusalem and empowers its people, making the weakest like David and the house of David like the angel of the LORD. Finally, the LORD pours out a spirit of grace and supplication upon the house of David and Jerusalem, causing them to look upon the One they have pierced and to mourn bitterly for Him throughout the land, clan by clan.

Summary automatically generated from the Bible text.

Words of Jesus in red

¹This is the burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel. Thus declares the LORD, who stretches out the heavens and lays the foundation of the earth, who forms the spirit of man within him: ²“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples. Judah will be besieged, as well as Jerusalem. ³On that day, when all the nations of the earth gather against her, I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who would heave it away will be severely injured. ⁴On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and every rider with madness. I will keep a watchful eye on the house of Judah, but I will strike with blindness all the horses of the nations. ⁵Then the leaders of Judah will say in their hearts: ‘The people of Jerusalem are my strength, for the LORD of Hosts is their God.’ ⁶On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among the sheaves; they will consume all the peoples around them on the right and on the left, while the people of Jerusalem remain secure there. ⁷The LORD will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and of the people of Jerusalem may not be greater than that of Judah. ⁸On that day the LORD will defend the people of Jerusalem, so that the weakest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD going before them. ⁹So on that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. ¹⁰Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son. ¹¹On that day the wailing in Jerusalem will be as great as the wailing of Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. ¹²The land will mourn, each clan on its own: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, ¹³the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, ¹⁴and all the remaining clans and their wives.

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Louis Segond 1910 and Berean Standard Bible: public domain. Cross references: open-cross-ref, Creative Commons BY 4.0.